WWALS Watershed Coalition advocates for conservation and stewardship of the Withlacoochee, Willacoochee, Alapaha, Little, Santa Fe, and Suwannee River watersheds in south Georgia and north Florida through education, awareness, environmental monitoring, and citizen activities.

“The initial project location is the farthest that mining activity would be
from the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) boundary and the Okefenokee
Swamp. Any additional mining that occurs within the 12,000-acre permit area would be
closer to the refuge. The northwest boundary of the permit area is within a half mile from
the refuge boundary and 400 feet from the edge of the Okefenokee Swamp.”

FWS also spelled out the bottom line:
“It is the responsibility of the permit applicant to demonstrate what the extent of impacts of the project will be to surrounding natural resources.”

And the applicant still has not done that, not even in its second application.

A few miners profiting by selling titanium dioxide for paint is nowhere near sufficient reason to risk the unique treasure that is the Okefenokee Swamp, which is also the headwaters of both the Suwannee and St. Marys Rivers.

“The initial project location is the farthest that mining activity would be
from the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) boundary and the Okefenokee
Swamp. Any additional mining that occurs within the 12,000-acre permit area would be
closer to the refuge. The northwest boundary of the permit area is within a half mile from
the refuge boundary and 400 feet from the edge of the Okefenokee Swamp,”
wrote the Fish and Wildlife Service to Senator David Purdue.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) wrote that in response to an inquiry by Senator David Perdue of Georgia.
Sen. Perdue also asked if FWS actually had jurisdiction over the proposed mining area, and FWS replied saying that it did have several kinds of oversight.

But FWS spelled out the bottom line:
“It is the responsibility of the permit applicant to demonstrate what the extent of impacts of the project will be to surrounding natural resources.”

And the applicant still has not done that, not even in its second application.

No longer discussing the northern reaches of its landholdings much
doesn’t mean Continue reading →

Hahira, Georgia, March 16, 2020 —
The coalition of supporters of the Okefenokee Swamp against anything that would harm it stands ready to stop the new strip mine application, same as the old one.

Twin Pines Minerals (TPM) of Birmingham, Alabama, in its new application
claims its proposed titanium strip mine
less than three miles from the Okefenokee Swamp
would be on a “reduced mining area,”
which is actually 86% of what they proposed last time.
They say they want to do a “demonstration” mine.

Suwannee Riverkeeper John S. Quarterman says,
“Let their foot in the door and it will be even harder to get rid of them later.
TPM is under a Florida Consent Order along with Chemours for violations
at four mines due south in north Florida.
Chemours now wants a fifth Florida titanium mine on Trail Ridge.
Why would we think TPM would stop with just a nibble of Trail Ridge in Georgia?
Our Okefenokee Swamp with its fishing, boating, birding, and hunting nearby,
is much more important than any mine,
especially since it is the headwaters of the Suwannee River and the St Marys River.”

Despite TPM’s assurances, the miners have not proven their mining would not
affect the groundwater, the underlying Floridan Aquifer, surface streams,
or the Okefenokee Swamp.

Their application form proposes to mine 1041.7 acres, the same size tract
as in their application of last year that they retracted in early January of this year.
But their actual application says “TPM now wishes to conduct a demonstration mining project for a reduced mining area of approximately 898 acres.”

86% of the original acreage is not much reduced. And how is that just a demonstration?

No doubt you will hear more about that and other problems with the miners’ application from
the coalition supporting the Swamp and opposing anything that would harm it.
That coalition includes a wide range of organizations, Continue reading →